​​​​Sarah Clayton​

Dr. Carol R. Bradford, new member of the Institute of Medicine and Chair of the Otolaryngology Department at the University of Michigan Health System

 

By: Sarah Clayton

 

Inside the glass wall waiting room of the Otolaryngology office at the University of Michigan Health System, it’s very quiet. Breaking the silence, a patient’s father rushes in and asks a nurse where his son and wife are. “They were supposed to be here,” he says. She calmly asks for his son’s name so she can take him back to the room where he’ll wait for one of the head and neck cancer specialists, like Dr. Carol R. Bradford, to discuss a treatment plan for his son’s cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

found that patients with HPV-related throat cancer respond better to treatment than those with smoking related cancers so they are now using a less intense, but targeted approach for treating the first group.

 

In a male-dominated field, Bradford said “Previously, women lacked female role models. I was fortunate to have great mentors who happened to be males.” Although, she does feel that it was hard to work her way up in her own department as the internal candidate. Now, she enjoys being a mentor in her department to encourage other aspiring docs in her field.

 

In her job, every day is different and she works about 100 hours a week, up slightly from 80 hours per week since her kids went to college. She likes to attend football games and run to recover so she doesn’t burn out. “I’m probably out of balance right now because you get home and really all you can do is go to sleep cause you’re so exhausted and you wake up in the morning and you do it again. And my house is kind of a mess, but my husband helps out a lot,” she said. Her assistant, Traci Hoffman, says “The best part about working with Dr. Bradford is our ability to work as a team. We both have the utmost respect and admiration for one another.”

 

Bradford married her college sweetheart in 1982. Dave has been the Project Manager at Robertson Morrison Inc. for the past 25 years and has always been there to support his wife and family. They have two children, Taylor, age 21, and Morgan, age 19, both in college now. Taylor says his mom was gone a lot of the time. “My dad and babysitters drove us everywhere. We’d see my mom on weekends or when she got home from work,” he said. Regardless, he says he’s proud of her because “she’s always worked really hard to accomplish her goals. It’s what she had worked for her whole career.” Dr. Bradford said, “While some may judge, I firmly believe that with proper support in the home, one can still accomplish a successful career and a happy, healthy family life.”

 

She has no real plans to slow down any time soon. We can look forward to Dr. Bradford’s impact as not only chair of the Otolaryngology Department, but also as a member of the Institute of Medicine.